Category: The Forum

It’s Friday!
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Quotes of note
“Those gentlemen, who will be elected senators, will fix themselves in the federal town, and become citizens of that town more than of your state.” – George Mason (1788)
“The ability to respectfully deliberate, discuss and disagree – to model the behavior on display in Independence Hall – has been lost in too many places. Some are quick to blame a “tribalization” of America where groupthink reigns. Others point to the rise of social media where, under the cloak of anonymity, sarcasm and disdain dominate. Certainly, none of that improves our discourse. But I think the issue is more fundamental…
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By Harold Brown
A year ago this month, the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane Maria. Apportioning blame and credit for the island’s recovery is almost beside the point. That has been complicated not only by the physical, economic and social destruction caused by Maria but by economic and demographic problems beginning long before the hurricane hit.
Puerto Rico is one of the few places in the world where population is in a steep decline (see chart). For 2017, the CIA World Factbook lists it second from the bottom out of 234 countries for population growth. According to the Census, the population increased until 2004, then declined, reaching the lowest population in three decades last year.
The…
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By Eric J. Tanenblatt
When it comes to transportation in Atlanta, there are two things on which everyone can agree: Our cash-strapped transit grid is bad, and our traffic is worse.
Here, where one need only cast their gaze skyward to the swoop of cranes fashioning a towering, new skyline of glimmering glass and steel to understand the sea of red that drowns our highways each night, it’s plainly clear that growing pains are at hand – and, with them, worsening road congestion.
Our sprawling city is in desperate need of expanded public transportation. And it’s critical that it be equitable and accessible, because Atlanta will only truly be connected and vibrant when its mass transit system has equal buy-in…
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It’s Friday!EventsSeptember 21: “Rethinking American Highways,” a Policy Briefing Luncheon and Book Forum with Bob Poole, director of Transportation Policy at Reason Foundation. Among Poole’s policy papers that introduced new concepts into the U.S. transportation policy world (some finding a home in Georgia):
Public-private toll concessions for highway projects
HOT (high-occupancy/toll) lanes
HOT/express toll networks
Dedicated truck toll lanes
Virtual exclusive busways
Managed arterials.
This event is 11:30 a.m. at the Georgian Club. $50. Register here; a limited number of Poole’s books are available to order at the discounted price of $20.
September 27: Health Connect South 2018 brings more than 400 health leaders to the Georgia Aquarium to talk about “the future” in health,…
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It’s Friday!Events
We’re at the 2018 Georgia Legislative Policy Forum today. Are you? The daylong conference at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel features an exciting lineup of experts on state-focused reforms in criminal justice, health care, education and teacher pensions! Find out more in commentaries here and here or view the agenda here.
September 21: “Rethinking American Highways,” a Policy Briefing Luncheon and Book Forum with Bob Poole, director of Transportation Policy at Reason Foundation. 11:30 a.m., Georgian Club. $50. Register here; a limited number of Poole’s books are available to order.
September 27: Health Connect South 2018 brings more than 400 health leaders to the Georgia Aquarium to talk about “the future” in health,…
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It’s Friday!REGISTER NOW! One Day. Four issues. Sixteen Experts. And just one week to the 2018 Georgia Legislative Policy Forum! The daylong conference at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel on Friday, September 7, features an exciting lineup of experts on state-focused reforms in criminal justice, health care, education and teacher pensions! Registration is open to the public and includes breakfast and lunch. $100. Register here. Find out more in commentaries here and here or view the agenda here.
Our condolences to the friends, family and colleagues of U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who lost his battle with cancer on August 25. He was the keynote…
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By Jim Renner
My friend works hard at a low-paying job. Every week he buys a lottery ticket, even though he knows the odds of winning are miniscule. For him, it’s inexpensive entertainment. But if he spent half his paycheck on lottery tickets, we’d all agree he was crazy for wasting his money chasing an impossible dream.
Camden County, Ga., doesn’t understand this logic. The county administrator and commissioners have spent almost $5 million taxpayer dollars pursuing a fantasy with almost zero chance of success. They dream of building a commercial spaceport for small start-up companies to launch rockets over Cumberland Island National Seashore. They make extravagant claims about creating jobs and attracting businesses, and bemoan the children forced to…
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By Senator John McCain John McCain (R-Ariz.), died of cancer on August 25, 2018, at age 81. The senior senator from Arizona was the keynote speaker at the Georgia Public Policy Foundation’s 15th anniversary celebration on October 9, 2006. These are excerpts from his speech.
These are challenging days. Elections approaching. My party has a tough fight on its hands.
Part of the reasons are the difficulties of war, and America’s waning patience with it. Partly, it is just a typical cyclical challenge for the party in power, the sixth year of a presidency. But a part of it is our own fault. And we must not only remind the voters of what we have done to deserve their support,…
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It’s Friday!September 7: The 2018 Georgia Legislative Policy Forum is a daylong conference at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel on Friday, September 7, featuring an exciting lineup of experts on state-focused reforms in health care, education and pensions! Registration is open to the public and includes breakfast and lunch. $100. Register here. Find out more in commentaries here and here or view the agenda here.
September 21: “Rethinking American Highways,” a Policy Briefing Luncheon and Book Forum with Bob Poole, director of Transportation Policy at Reason Foundation. 11:30 a.m., Georgian Club. $50. Books available for pre-order. Register here.
Subscribe to the Friday Facts here. Support the Foundation and its mission here.
Quotes of …
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I wanted to publicly say how much I appreciate Georgia Public Policy Foundation. For those of you that will be entering the Legislature or are relatively new you may not quite yet appreciate how much we rely on Georgia Public Policy Foundation’s research and work. As you know we’re a citizen’s legislature. We have very little staff. They have been an invaluable, invaluable resource to us. To put this [Forum] on and the regular programs that they do throughout the year make us better at what we do. (At the 2012 Georgia Legislative Policy Forum.)